“Team focused on showcasing good cricket against India”: Oman wicketkeeper/batter Vinayak Shukla
(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
In the build-up to their final group match against a dominant India in the Asia Cup, Oman wicketkeeper-batter Vinayak Shukla shared his team’s deep respect for the Indian cricket team’s quality and skill. Speaking at a pre-match press conference in Abu Dhabi, Shukla highlighted how Oman plans to focus on hard work, learn from past mistakes, and put up a strong show in this dead-rubber clash at Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Friday.
India has already secured their spot in the Super Four stage after cruising to wins—a nine-wicket thrashing of the UAE and a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan. Oman, on the other hand, remains winless after losses to both Pakistan and the UAE. But Shukla remains upbeat, stressing that the goal is to play exciting cricket and entertain fans.
"We have huge respect for India and the top-class cricket they play," Shukla said. "For us, it’s all about our hard work and learning from our previous matches. We’re excited to give them a good game."
He added that Oman has flashed moments of quality play so far but needs to fix key issues. "This is our last group game, with India and another team already through. We want to showcase good cricket, iron out our weaknesses, and deliver an entertaining match for our fans."
Shukla pointed out specific areas for improvement, like strengthening their top and middle-order batting. "We’ve lost wickets too quickly in the powerplay during our last two games, so we’re working hard on that," he noted.
For Oman, this match against a full-member giant like India serves as crucial preparation. It’s their final outing before hosting the T20 World Cup Asia & East-Asia-Pacific Regional Qualifier next month—a big step toward qualifying for the global stage.
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson (w), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana.
Oman Squad: Aamir Kaleem, Jatinder Singh (c), Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla (w), Wasim Ali, Hassnain Shah, Shah Faisal, Jiten Ramanandi, Aryan Bisht, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava, Mohammad Nadeem, Sufyan Mehmood, Karan Sonavale, Ashish Odedara, Mohammad Imran, Zikria Islam, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Yousaf.
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